


Know By Heart

by sixpences



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist
Genre: Canon - Manga, Curtain Fic, Drabble Collection, Drabblevember 2010, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-11-02
Updated: 2010-12-01
Packaged: 2017-10-13 12:10:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 2,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/137203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixpences/pseuds/sixpences
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Twenty-five short stories about Roy and Riza. A collection of drabbles from the November Drabblefest 2010.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Convalescence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's still early days.

Her back has healed but everywhere else is raw, a low, constant tightness sitting in her chest. It's just her and Roy in his little office and they speak to one another softly and startle when the draught rattles the door.

"Lieutenant."

It still takes a moment to register. She looks up and Roy is setting a mug of tea on her desk, his fingers lingering around the handle.

"Milk and one sugar, right?"

He always asks, though it's one thing that's the same. She nods and reaches for the mug and their hands brush, briefly; they both look away.


	2. Woke Up New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy makes breakfast

Roy makes breakfast, yellow scrambled eggs and toast from the half-stale end of the loaf, and they sit opposite each other at the table. She looks at his hands, at the way the sunlight reflects off the flat of the table knife. Her nerves are still humming, this close to him, more than she can suppress.

"So what did you want to do today?" he asks lightly, eyes skipping across her face. He's wearing yesterday's trousers, his hair still disarrayed. Riza remembers the heat of his mouth, the long weight of his body.

"I can think of a few things."


	3. Lightness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He's only looking.

Havoc's jokes are terrible but she's laughing anyway, eyes creasing at the corners. The chairs in the mess are comfier than most and her body curls slightly around the mug in her hands.

It's just little things he notices, small details. Which pistol she's carrying. How her mascara smudges in the late afternoon. The way her jacket sits above her hips and the small, pale sliver of skin there now where her shirt is riding up.

"... The first one was funnier, wouldn't you agree Colonel?"

Roy blinks. Their eyes meet, and neither of them looks away quite quickly enough.


	4. Serenade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy is an accomplished man.

"Gotta keep," Roy sings, off key, "keep your woman satisfied, keep her happy through the night..." He looks at her sideways. "Or the morning."

Riza spits out her toothpaste. "Please don't sing in enclosed spaces."

"It's alright, Lieutenant," he says. "I have accepted that you find me irresistible. I am committed to my duty." When she's silent he adds, "If you wish to use me for my good looks at any other times of day..."

"Oh, be quiet."

Her hand's in his hair and she feels his smirk fade away against her mouth. His arms go around her waist wordlessly.


	5. Ghosts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> History repeats itself.

Roy wakes to her shaking, hands clutching at his shoulders. It's a few seconds before he sees the way her eyes are looking through him.

"Riza," he rasps, husky with sleep, "Riza, it's me. We're at home."

She exhales hard, eyes closing, and he touches her very gently. He won't ask where she was just yet.

"Home," she mumbles, leaning her head into his shoulder with the tremors still running through her body.

"Do you want me to switch on the light?"

"No, no." Her nails press into his skin. "Just stay."

He swallows the lump in his throat. "Always."


	6. Shortfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They run out of things, sometimes.

"This is becoming a problem."

"I don't know what you mean."

Roy settles the bowl in his lap and points at her feet propped up on the table. "Those are my socks."

Riza sniffs. "I was in a hurry."

"You haven't done laundry in two weeks."

"Neither have you." She waggles her toes. "I wear your pyjamas."

"That's different." He can only wish his socks looked so staggeringly appealing on her.

"It's sharing."

He sighs. Over her shoulder there's washing-up piled in the kitchen sink, but today's been another long day.

"We'll do laundry tomorrow," he says resolutely.

"Of course."


	7. Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He has room for improvement.

"You need to shift your weight a little." Riza has one hand on his hip, one on his shoulder. "You're standing like someone much taller."

"Like this?" Roy moves fractionally.

"Better."

The firing range is empty, and standing so close the smell of his aftershave is soft and familiar. She clears her throat.

"You've lined up the sights?"

"Just about." His voice is taut. Riza's eyes linger stubbornly at his collar, the pale skin above it.

"Don't flinch," she says and she ought to move away but Roy's muscles are tensing under her hands.

The shot is far too loud.


	8. Cartography

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's new territory.

There are still tank tracks in the streets, blast marks on buildings, and their lives are going back into boxes headed east.

She helps Roy pack. They fit books into suitcases, cram saucepans into boxes, and neither of them can quite look the other in the eye. There's no hiding place left for what's between them.

Riza is carrying a blanket when Roy catches her arm, and when he kisses her it's the shape of a thousand glances, touches, small words and long hours. Her hands find his face and the blanket falls to the floor, unfolding like a map.


	9. Steady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things stay the same.

Colonel Breguet has been talking for at least ten minutes. Riza keeps her back straight, hands fidgeting under the table.

"At least meetings haven't changed," Roy murmurs next to her. He's been doodling on his notepad; she can make out Hayate, a flower, something that looks like a trumpet.

"Nor has his point, for five minutes."

"You clearly picked the better Colonel to work for." He smiles. The broad stripes on his shoulders, the third star on hers, are still too new; their vocabulary falters. Under the table she feels his hand slip into hers and squeeze. It's a constant.


	10. Lean Like Towers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night is too short. A missing scene from [First Few Desperate Hours](http://community.livejournal.com/penways/14749.html).

There's silence, after. In the lamplight his face has long, thin shadows and he moves to kiss her achingly slowly. Riza slides an arm around his waist.

"Don't let go just yet," Roy mumbles against her mouth. She wants to crush him to her chest, hold on so tightly she can never let go again.

"I won't," is all she says.

"I need you." His eyes are tired but still honest enough. She tangles a hand in his hair. In a few hours he'll be gone, back where she can't protect him, and she doesn't want to close her eyes.


	11. Good Morning Captain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's come to like mornings.

The sunlight falls in yellow bars across the bed, and when she turns towards Roy his slow smile makes her pulse quicken.

"Hello," he says, blinking.

Riza props herself up on one elbow, studying him as if anew. His hair is mussed and his eyes are still narrow with sleep. He touches her hip lightly and she thinks of his dark head between her thighs, his teeth against her collarbone.

"Good morning," she says, leaning over to kiss him. His hand slides up her back.

"Excellent assessment, Captain," he says as she straddles his hips. "It's a very good morning."


	12. Come Back Breathing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming out the other side.

_It’s good to be young, but let’s not kid ourselves  
It’s better to pass on through those years  
And come out the other side  
With our hearts still beating  
Having stared down demons  
Come back breathing_

Roy lies alongside her in the hospital bed, their bodies pressed together from shoulder to hip. His bandaged hands are folded across his stomach.

"It doesn't feel over."

Riza tilts her head. "But we survived."

Roy turns, their faces inches apart on the pillow. His pupils contract into focus. "Thank you," he says, and touches the dressings around her neck, and his smile is the most familiar thing she knows.

"For what?"

"For everything." His fingers tease at her hair. "It's been a long time."

She lets herself lean in towards him, just a little. "There's plenty of time left."


	13. Infelicity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some things no-one needs to see.

Riza doesn't remember doing it but Roy's shirt is on the floor and his hands have crawled up underneath hers, tracing patterns on her back. She's kissing him lazily, fingers combing through his hair.

She almost doesn't notice the strangled noise behind them.

Havoc looks mildly concussed. Beneath her, Roy lifts his head from the narrow break room bed and manages an arch, "Lieutenant Havoc?"

Havoc's mouth works soundlessly for another moment before he slams the door shut. She coughs.

"I think we broke him."

Roy giggles, tongue at the corner of his lips. "Just lock the door this time."


	14. He Shall, from Time to Time...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last minute preparations.

Riza is re-pinning his medals for the fourth time while Roy skims over his scribbled notes. Inside they can't hear the crowd but expectancy hums dully in his ears.

"Don't rely on those too much," she says, hands busy.

"I have to remember what to say somehow."

"You'll be fine." Riza stops and looks up at him, mouth quirking. "I've got your back."

Roy kisses her, swift and hard, and murmurs, "For luck." She straightens his collar and he smoothes a wisp of her hair.

"They're waiting."

He pushes the notes into his pocket and takes her hand. "Let's go."


	15. Considerate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She certainly wasn't complaining at the time. A missing scene from [If You See Light](http://community.livejournal.com/penways/18824.html).

Roy presses his mouth to her stomach, working downwards, and Riza can feel his breath whispering across her skin, his thumbs on her hipbones. His tongue traces a circle and she pushes one hand into his hair.

"Would you like me to speed up?" She feels his mouth curve into a smile

"I'd like you to stop talking."

Roy chuckles- it tickles and she laughs too- and then his mouth is on her, hands sliding across the tops of her thighs. Her heels dig into the mattress and she presses her fingers into his scalp, suddenly breathless. He's still smiling.


	16. Anchor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not enough to survive on.

She passes Roy in the corridors sometimes and they nod politely like acquaintances. Riza watches the way his shoulders move, tries to tell herself he isn't looking thinner than she remembers.

They brush hands, once. It's late, a long winter evening, and the moon is heavy at the window.

He feels too thin when she slides her hands under his jacket, his back to the door of someone's empty office and his mouth hot and desperate against her own. She clutches at him; his hands press against her back and it's the first time in weeks that anything's felt real.


	17. Influence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are worse ways to spend an evening.

They've slid off the sofa but it's just as comfy on the floor, Roy's head tucked into her neck and his hand curving over her thigh. The empty bottle on the coffee table is looking at them both with disapproval.

"I like you," Roy says sleepily. Riza kisses his hair. "Even though you finished the bottle."

"You'd had enough," she says with utmost dignity before collapsing into giggles. Roy laughs and nips at her jaw and his hand inches further up her thigh.

"Here's where I say something sexy," he mumbles.

"That was perfect," she says, and starts giggling again.


	18. Wrap Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Walking home.

The first snow is light enough that they can still walk home easily, breath misting under the streetlamps. Roy buys them both mulled cider from a cart and Riza holds the cup against her chest, and they walk closer together now than they did a year ago, boots crunching along the pavement in tandem.

"We'll finish earlier tomorrow," Roy says. Riza lets her shoulder brush companionably against his.

"I don't mind."

"I just like being alone with you." When she looks over he's hiding his face in his cup. She smiles and pulls her scarf a little tighter.

"I know."


	19. Night Crossing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a long way to go.

Riza is leaning against his shoulder; she's been drifting in and out of sleep for the last half hour. Beyond the carriage windows the night is absolute.

"Any more questions?" she mumbles. Roy looks back down at the report in his lap, covered in her annotations.

"I'm not quite finished."

"Still another two days to Xing." She yawns.

"Should we pull the bed down?" They can both just about fit in one bunk. It's difficult to sleep without her.

"I'm fine," she says, sliding her arm around his waist. "You're comfy."

He kisses her forehead. The darkness rushes past outside.


	20. Middlegame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's not quite what she set out to achieve.

There are probably better ways to improve her chess game. When they stumble into the kitchen table three pieces fall to the floor, but being a few moves from check seems rather irrelevant now. Roy's hands slide to her hips, his kisses urgent.

"Chess is a thing for you?" she laughs.

" _You_ are a thing for me." He kisses down her throat, fingers at her waistband. Riza throws a hand out for balance and it skids on a rook.

"Your move," Roy mumbles to her collarbone and she pushes down on his shoulder. Her buttons come away and he complies.


	21. Long Blue Cold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming home in winter.

The cold gets under Riza's coat and lingers there stubbornly; she stamps her feet in the hall and rifles through the post with numb hands. When she opens the door of her flat the warmth and the smell of food are slightly startling.

Roy's shirtsleeves are rolled up, his hair askew, and something's simmering in a saucepan on the hob. There's cutlery set on her table, a steaming teapot.

"You're home," Roy says, crossing the room, and she breathes in deeply as he slides an arm around her, lifts her mouth to meet his and closes her eyes.

"I'm home."


	22. Wrong Number

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's too early in the morning for this.

The phone rings for a long time before anyone answers, and it's not quite who Breda expected to hear.

"Hullo?"

"General?"

There's a strangled cough on the other end. "Lieutenant Breda, I... you're calling for Captain Hawkeye?"

"I borrowed a book of hers." Breda grits his teeth. The General sounds distinctly sleepy.

"I, uh, was just dropping off some papers."

At half eight in the morning. Breda closes his eyes, hoping desperately that the man at least has some trousers on. There's a clatter on the line and finally Hawkeye's voice.

"Breda?"

She sounds even groggier than Mustang. Breda sighs.


	23. Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need a little practice.

"It's fine, my sister taught me."

Riza looks at him apprehensively. Roy is posed in the middle of their little office, the radio crackling out a half-audible tune.

"It's Hughes, you know there'll be dancing."

"Okay." It's late enough that there's probably no one to hear them. She takes Roy's hand and feels the other settle hesitantly at her waist. The wedding isn't for another month.

He clears his throat. "Right, so one step back, two to the left then _pause_ , two steps forward..."

Riza holds herself steady, watching the way his throat moves as he talks. The music swells.


	24. Yarn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He might have missed the point.

"It's just not very believable."

Riza smiles against his chest. "It's a surrealist novel."

"Well, exactly." Roy's thumb is stroking her shoulder. She's nestled against him, sweat cooling on their skin.

"I'll pencil some equations in the margins for you."

"That would be an improvement." His other hand's entwined with hers over his stomach, rising and falling with his breath.

"You have terrible taste in literature." Riza closes her eyes. Roy makes a little grumbling noise as he pulls her closer.

"Tell me a story then."

"It's late."

His fingers trace nonsense patterns on her bicep. "It's not that late."


	25. Mistletoe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Somebody put that there for a reason

The others were avoiding it all day, going sideways through the door, pretending not to look up. Riza tucks her scarf in under her collar, glancing back across the empty office.

"One last thing to do," Roy says with a grin. Riza looks upwards. The mistletoe hangs at a crooked angle over their heads.

"It's two weeks 'til the solstice."

"I like being prepared."

There's a clever reply to that, but when she meets his eyes it's gone. His mouth opens over hers and she presses in closer, sliding her hands under his coat. The snow whispers at the window.


End file.
